*OFFICIAL* Alienware 13 R3 Owner's Lounge

@Greel if you are not in a hurry maybe you can wait it out. I need it by 14/12 otherwise I will be without a PC for a couple of months. If I don't get any concrete updates about it's location by tomorrow, I might have to cancel my order. Which will be a shame, really.


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Ive actually already ordered the machine but my problem is slightly unique. See someone in canada is travelling to my country and bringing it for me. Therefore if temps become an issue im pretty much stuck and im not confident enough to repaste myself. So any information will be extremely helpful.

And im glad your wife liked it thats awesome!

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if it is like mine cpu will hit 90-100 easy playing bf1 will repaste when i get back from dubai

 

You can transfer the warranty to your country. The title of link is misleading, as its usually used for change of ownership, but its the same link/process they use to change location as well. If you are just visiting, they will also support you, unless they do not offer support in that country.

http://www.dell.com/support/content...dware-support/warranty-and-ownership-transfer

 

Ordered AW 13 R3 with est. delivery date on 16/Dec in Hong Kong.

I'm thinking about buying a 1 TB SSD to replace my default 256 GB.

If you have bought one, please share which model of SSD you have selected.

After that, will you keep the default Dell's SSD into 2nd SSD slot?

 

i have just ordered the new samsung 960 evo 500gb and will keep the stock drive for storage

 

Ditto I'm doing same. I got 180gb now. And about to right now add the 1tb toshiba nvme. But prob sell the drive if I'm totally satisfied and see my hard drive filling up with games very quickly though.


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That used to be me. But watched few YouTube vids and read info. I think the best method if you wanna try is a pea sized blob. But you can do a small line about half the length of the silver part you paste. But I think it's dependant on the paste you use. I did mixture of both with ic diamond. Could find the stuff anymore. Now I'm using mx-4. Not sure what temps are like doing same method as it was my bros laptop I did it on. I'll try it out if I don't like my temps but that would probably be tomorrow as I'll be using tonight to do lads of installs and game testing and 3 games equals about 230gb alone.


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even after repaste unless LM your going to see temps in the low 90's for the high spikes.
Unless you select performance fan on in bios before gaming.
repasted mine and undervolt at -135 and temps spike at 88.

For sure a repaste is needed but also Dell needs to adjust fan settings.

 

If i change the fan without a repaste, what can i expect?

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Just changing the fan in bios to performance mode /on should give you 20C average better temps then without fan performance on.

 

Thats good to hear!

 

Just received mine!!!

 

Let's have some photographs. One can never have too many photographs!

 

ok. Slapped my nvme in to replace the "slot 1" (haven't tried slot 2 yet as gotta sort kids bed time out). But the ssd doesn't show up. I used the recovery that you back up. Doesn't work. So I tried a windows 10 ISO on USB and from there shows no drive in there at all. But I'm sure people was saying that nvme works on both slots. So what am I missing?


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Could you post some pics/vids with one of your arms next to it ? [hahaa , I know, sounds weird ... I'm just trying to get a better dimension perspective]
Thank you !

 

TEMPS!!!

Also this, please! Not many pics and videos of actually typing on this thing and handling it

 

Go into BIOS, change the setting for SATA Operation from RAID to AHCI.

 

Ok. Thanks. Anything else? I did change it but saw no difference I think. But double check cos I've tried different slots and options. Can't recall all that I did.


EDIT: I've tried that still nothing. Doesn't even show up. Apparently I'm using the same 1tb toshiba drones they are using. So I dunno

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If it shows in the bios you might have a ssd witch need drivers installed at os installation...

 

Hey guys, as requested, here are some pics.
My left hand is in the picture on purpose for size comparison.
I have to say that photos make it look waaaaay bigger than it actually is, also LOVING the build quality!!!

http://imgur.com/a/udkHT

 

Couldn't get it to show up in bios. Because I've changed things. My original stick won't boot either. Hate when it does this. Is there a way to sort it without a reinstallation. Rather use it as it was for now and so I can see if drivers are required for the other ssd to show as you said


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Golden ! Thank you very much.

That being said, the system looks super compact. Love it !!!

 

Wasn't sisqo 's drive already an nvme?

Is that the 1080p version?

How is the screen ? oh and when you get a chance can you test battery life?
I almost chose the 1080p knowing the OLED was a power hog.

 

I just got home and opened up mine. Initial impressions... This thing is beautiful! Great build quality and while I was worried about the weight, I feel its nicely balanced and just feels more dense than other laptops I have used.

One thing to note... As we know the dimensions are odd and its a bit harder than I expected to find a decent bag. A lot of the 15" bags are made for macbooks and those dimensions don't line up well with the AW13. The bag I got (STM Haven) fits, but its too tight and rubs the zippers more than I would like.

 

Yes it is indeed the 1080p edition, it's an awesome IPS panel, good colors and 0 reflection!!!
At 100% the battery is indicating 4 hours and 53 minutes, and thats with skype, chrome and battle.net open.
Also i noticed that they put a PM961 ssd in mine, thought that they all came with toshiba drives, but you dont hear me complaining, i have the same Samsung PM961 drive in my own rig and loving it!

 

For those that received their alienware 13 R3

I just received mine in the mail and noticed that towards the bottom of the screen's bezel, near the alienware logo, the adhesive is lose and coming apart. Is anyone else noticing this?

 

Are you talking about on the screen/bezel where it says Alienware or the alienware head/power button?

 

Reset to default settings and swap the original drive in.

 

The alienware logo (screen/bezel) not the power button.

There's a strip of adhesive attached to the screen that is coming apart.

 

I don't have this... For a second I thought you were referring to the protective plastic strip above the keyboard.

 

Is this is what you're referring to ?

http://imgur.com/a/SOtEj

[ https://www.reddit.com/r/Alienware/comments/5ghslv/how_do_you_set_up_a_exchange_for_your_alienware/]

 

I'll just put this here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/alienware-13-r3-repaste.799011/

 

Thank you mate. My oled will be here tomorrow and if it doesn't blow me away I will return for the 1080p. I am currently using a 2015 1080p razer blade and love that matt screen, its just a pity the laptop is so damn noisy

 

Any light bleed?

 

Tried that also and unfortunately not working. Only thing I can do I guess is reinstall it but I don't wanna do all that on just 180gb. I just don't know why my pcie 1tb won't work?


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Do you have any device to plug the drive into in order to test if it is working? My issue was the drive shows up in the BIOS and not the Windows Installation, and was only fixed by changing the SATA Operation.

I'm afraid if the device doesn't show in the BIOS, then it is likely DOA.

 

No, the bottom portion of the bezel (above alienware logo) is just slightly detatched from screen. I physically pressed it in and it's looking a bit better, not that big of a deal.

Another question that I have: I ordered a 256gb model, will any type of m.2 ssd work with alienware 13 r3? As in, i'm looking for the absolute cheapest 1tb ssd and do not care about speeds. (Will be for media storage).

 

nope, doesn't like mine has any lightbleed, i'll verify tomorrow just to be sure.

 

Just received mine. Was super excited to get it and it has a beautiful screen and at first sight solid build quality. However, battery will not charge past 60 percent and tech support said they needed to replace mobo. I refuse to pay good money to have to replace parts on day 1! So I decided to RMA. Just wanted to let you all know since I've been on here on a regular basis before I decided to buy. Hope you all have better luck with yours.

 

That really blows and is unacceptable. Are these tested before being sent out of the factory?

 

That's what I'm thinking that it's DOA. I don't have anything else to test it in. I could of sworn I saw it in the bios. But when I checked all ways possible. Nothing showed up at all.


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Linus does a review.

 

Called today to check status of my order since I hadn't received a ship notice. My EDD on the order details page has been 5 Dec - 12 Dec.

I'm glad I called...the first CSR said that "my order cannot be built" and said I needed to be referred to another department to "reconfigure my order". Luckily, my connection dropped before any more shenanigans occurred.

I called a couple hours later after the kids were in bed...this CSR said there was nothing wrong with my order, and that previous CSR "didn't read the notes right". He said though that my order needed to be referred to "export control department". I have no idea WTF that means - his accented English wasn't the best. He created a case number and assured me that things would be fixed ASAP because he "sent an email to [that department]".

Needless to say, I'm not exactly excited about my prospects. Does anybody else have experience or understand any of this lingo? I tried to ask him if that meant my laptop was stuck in some port in China and he said something about Alienware's aren't made in China
(I think, but it wasn't clear). I did receive a case number by email - so there's that.

He said my notes indicated my order should ship by 8 Dec and he was going to do everything he could to make sure it arrives in my original window (12 Dec).

 

Sorry to hear that bro, hope it works out for you!

I'm surprised by just how bad the Dell ordering process and support has been. As you may have read, my EDD was 28th Nov, but on the 28th instead I received an email that my order was cancelled... I got 3-4 different reasons from different reps, there was no way to uncancel, so I could only reorder and wait another month, and in the process I lost the coupon I used and $120 worth of gift cards. I feel like Dell should just get rid of these 1000s of people they are employing and pass along the cost savings, because if you get into a situation where you actually need a human being's help, you're already screwed. I've ordered more than 5 computers from Dell and this was the first time it got screwed so royally, the rest were all very automated and smooth as silk, so when it works it works great, but there are these super weird times when they are just shooting themselves in the foot.

 

Dang...I have a feeling my story will end like yours, and I had a tremendous amount of cash savings on this thing. Something to the tune of 32% off retail price plus another 10% gift card once shipped.

Yes, Dell has privatized, but they kept hold of the humongous byzantine/labyrinthian beuracracy from before. Last year I went through a couple of XPS15 units through the order/return process. I remember just having to track a return, I had no less than like 4 numbers I needed to track in order to keep tabs on it. I created a spreadsheet to track 3 separate laptop returns and it was crazy. Every time I called I would have to cross reference numbers. Even now on an order, why do I have a Order#, PurchaseID, and a different Member number for each order? Ridiculous. The owners need to understand they are building great new products and need to dump the system somehow - but alas I have no clue what it takes to mass produce laptops, handle support, and the likes these days.

 

Really solid review...he holds no punches on the thing. I couldn't see what the actual thickness was though - what do you new owners notice about that? I will say none of the pictures look like this thing could possible be just 22-24MM thick, even if I subtract the rubber feet.

ALso, that 2:15 battery life is atrocious - I'm not sure if that's under some sort of productivity load though? What are you new owners seeing as far as OLED battery life? I'm guessing the OLED in any "productivity" tasks is probably awful because of all the white on the screen.

 

For those with the system how is gaming on 13" screen? Thinking if canceling 15" for this bc of the oled screen.

 

Yeah, I only really have one piece of advice there: I felt that speaking with reps just increased the chances of something going wrong. I would try to minimize interactions if you can, because you never know what they're gonna do.

As for bureaucracy... I don't think that's the problem, to be honest. I think support is just terribly trained, all outsourced, and it is very unlikely they will get any better. Precisely because Dell went private, and then bought EMC, they have an ENORMOUS debt load right now (many tens of billions, most likely), which means they are trying to cut corners as much as they can to make those interest and loan payments. I agree, they still can make a decent machine, and they should double down on that and cut the useless parts of the organization.

After my debacle, I reached out to a friend that works there and he used an employee discount to reorder a machine for me, so I'm still waiting on another AW13 now, hopefully the machine makes up for the cr*p I've gone through

 

Are you serious!?

I have the same issue and here I am loading all my programs to ditch my desktop....

ugh...